Brewer to Arizona: no more debates for you

BREWER TO ARIZONA: NO MORE DEBATES FOR YOU…. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) became something of a national laughingstock yesterday, as news of her debate performance made the rounds. So, any chance Brewer will be better prepared for the next debate? No, because there won’t be any more debates.

Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has put the kibosh on all future debates with her Arizona gubernatorial opponent Terry Goddard (D), after her rather embarrassing display at Wednesday’s debate. […]

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Brewer says she only partook in the debate to try qualify for the $1.7 million-plus public funds for her campaign.

Also note, local reporters took an interest in Brewer’s wildly ridiculous allegations — over the summer, not during the debate — that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are responsible for “beheadings” in the Arizona desert, a claim that the governor appears to have just made up out of whole cloth.

During the debate, state Attorney General Terry Goddard (D) raised this as an issue — he fairly noted that tourists and investors may avoid a state where crazed immigrants chop off people’s heads — and Brewer dodged the issue. After the debate, the governor literally fled to avoid reporters’ questions on the subject.

Today, Brewer followed up, explaining why she ran away rather than defending her own claims.

“All you guys were doing and talking were beheadings, beheadings, beheadings,” Brewer told the Daily Star. “That is something that has stuck with you all for so long, and I just felt we needed to move on.”

Got that? Brewer made a ridiculous claim, refused to acknowledge her mistake, refused to answer questions about her own claims during the debate, and refused to respond to journalists’ inquiries after the debate. And now that she’s been caught lying about a key issue, she’s decided it’s time to “move on.” How convenient.

On a related note, reader A.K. emailed me this morning, asking how someone with Brewer’s issues could end up as the chief executive of a state. It’s worth remembering that Brewer never sought statewide office — she became governor when Janet Napolitano left the governor’s office to join the Obama administration (there is no lieutenant governor in Arizona).

Brewer, in other words, kind of fell into a job she was unprepared for. She was not expected to do well in seeking a full term, right up until she became a right-wing hero after signing Arizona’s anti-immigrant law.